This is my third John Marrs book after ‘Welcome To Wherever You Are’ (which I loved) and ‘The Samaritan’ (which I didn’t), but boy, this was good!
I love changing perspectives when it is done well and this was contemporary, gripping, entertaining, well-written and well-paced with a cast of interesting, layered characters and a cleverly plotted story to unfold.
I enjoyed this very much - one of my favourite reads this year.
In fact it would make a fabulous movie or mini series - surely Netflix will take this on right after The One? MYbe with an interactive option for the audience to vote? ;)

I loved the tag line on the front of my review copy of The Passengers (and so did the stag party on my train whilst I was reading it but that’s another story!) and couldn’t wait to dive between its black edged pages to find out who really does die and if so, who was deciding?! Having been a fan of John Marrs for a number of years now, I knew that I was about to be taken on journey with a few differences and that it was definitely going to be a bumpy ride!

The Passengers is set sometime in the future where self driving cars are now the norm. Once I got over the mental picture in my head of the Johnny Cabs in Total Recall ( if you’re younger than me you may need to Google them!) I was able to totally take onboard the idea of being able to get around in cars that are able to navigate themselves. Apparently they are also able to prevent traffic problems for the ever increasing population. Unfortunately, these cars aren’t without their problems but it looks like for eight specially chosen passengers their problems have only just started.

John Marrs takes us on a rollercoaster ride with plenty of twists and turns plus a few well chosen highs and lows as well. The Passengers are not who you think they are and I loved that this extension of the society we live in today follows the collision course that we all seem set on due to society’s obsession with social media and reality tv. Yes, this book cleverly takes the fears we may have and weaves a wonderfully addictive and fast paced storyline around them that will have you questioning your own choices in life. How many of us make snap decisions about people on very basic information on social media? It’s so easy to be judgemental when you don’t know the full story and as this book proves you really can’t judge a book by its cover!!

John Marrs has developed a brilliantly unique and inventive moral dilemma that in turn thrilled and angered me! It’s a compelling and thought provoking book that gave me such a book hangover, I abandoned two books after reading it. I just couldn’t let go of the The Passengers and the different paths their journeys took them before and during their terrifying experiences as they head towards their final destination.

Definitely another John Marrs winner so make sure it’s on your reading list!

This book is a brilliant unique thriller. John Marrs has a fabulous way of making his stories unique and gripping. I loved how he used some of his park of his older books in this one with the use of DNA matching. It fitted in so well with this new idea.
set in the future where technology is used to control our cars, driverless cars are something that doesn't seem to far away in the world we live in. What would happen if somebody hacked into the system that runs these cars?, As the drama unfolds we see different ways in which peoples secrets can be used against them.
I truly loved this book and it kept me up late into the night just so I could finish it.

Another great book by John Marrs. This book is a bit scary as something like this could happen in the future. Whilst reading this book there is a lot of things that you hope for, that some of the scenes are fabricated, that the vehicles won't collide at the end, that the hijacking is only a way to a means. To not give away what happens you will have to read it yourself. This book is scary on so many levels, what can happen when technology is made more important, what can happen when governments are allowed more control, etc.
I really enjoyed this book as well as the writing style of John Marrs. His books are getting better and better. I loved the manner in which he mentioned The One.
I would recommend this book to my family and friends.

Well I’ve finally popped my John Marrs cherry and oh boy, why the heck have I not read any of his books before? I actually have 2 of his previous books waiting to be read so I’ll definitely be getting stuck into them soon.
I’m still a bit dumb struck after reading The Passengers, so this may end up being a complete ramble but just so you know, I loved it.
Can you imagine having a car, not just any ordinary car but one that self drives, you can jump in, programme in where you want to go and hey presto, the car takes you there? Sounds fab doesn’t it? Set in the future, The Passengers has just these types of cars, the Government have assured everyone that they are safe, the programmes cannot be hacked, it’s the safest way to drive but is it?
Eight passengers find out that no it isn’t the safest and this varied bunch are set on a collision course with no way to escape. It’s up to the public to decide who should survive with the hacker revealing new information about each of the passengers. Some I really felt for and others I really didn’t like at all.
The Passengers really gives you a lot to think about, it’s terrifying and has so many twists and turns it had me flying through the pages. It’s original and scarily realistic. I couldn’t help feeling that this could actually happen in the near future and I will never, ever drive one of these cars. I’ll get a push bike instead.
I don’t think I’ve read a book so fast, it had me up until the wee hours totally hooked. It’s so addictive and engrossing I actually needed matchsticks to keep my eyes open the next day. John Marrs has written a story that is thrilling, terrifying and totally brilliant and I’ll definitely be recommending to everyone.

Eight self-drive cars set on a collision course. Who lives, who dies?

When someone hacks into the systems of eight self-drive cars, their passengers are set on a fatal collision course.

The passengers are: a TV star, a pregnant young woman, a disabled war hero, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an illegal immigrant, a husband and wife - and parents of two - who are travelling in separate vehicles and a suicidal man. Now the public have to judge who should survive but are the passengers all that they first seem?

What a blast this book was! I loved it! Even though it made me think hard about driverless cars and whether they could be hacked into and even whether they should be allowed. Well done John Marrs this book took me on the ride of my life!

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this amazing jaw dropping book

this is the future peeps...automated cars with no need for a driver just input your destination and away you go...and that is what the passengers do on this particular day with no worries until that day arrives and several cars are hacked and they are taken hostage well held against their will in their own cars with the immanent threat that at a certain time 2.5 hours in advance they will be dead...as they head to their final destinations

and what followed was an eyeopener to what could happen...it is most definitely and eye opener and will make you think about what control we are handing over to computers and A.I

and the hostages are they lovable people or are they the dregs of society...they have 10 minutes to win the jury over, so do they tell the truth or lie...and then its put to a vote, but is it all as it seems...

this book does make you think about where we are heading, but also it a thrill of a ride and one that will keep you reading till the end...

another author to add to the growing list of authors to keep an eye out for...

This is set in the future and about driverless cars. Can I just say that if we ever get there in my life time- I won’t be entering one unless I have a sledgehammer about my person or maybe even ever !! Thanks John!
Eight people are in their cars which have been hacked- something the government promised was impossible. All have been told that they are heading to a destination where they will die. Libby is on a jury which decides in the case of any fatalities whether the car or passengers are to blame when they get a call about the hijacked cars. She sees someone in one of the cars that she met six months before and has been doing her utmost to find him. Now she has found him however he is heading towards his death and there is very little she can do about it. Or is there? This is a tense read. We soon learn why each of the people have been chosen to be the “passengers” and each of the jury must chose one they wish to vote for along with the general public via social media. The hacker now has control of most things. OMG!! A dystopian state where the public think they can think for themselves but in reality pretty much everything is controlled by the state and there are no secrets. Argh! An interesting story, and as ever from John a very clever plot. One to blow your mind and make you think what the world could become. Psychology with that extra oomph!
(rest of links as part of blog tour)

Set in the near-future, eight passengers are trapped inside their driverless vehicles when a hacker hijacks their on-board computer systems. He notifies them that in a little over two hours they'll collide while travelling at speeds of approximately 70mph. Their plight quickly captures the attention of the world's media and is streamed live around the globe.

Meanwhile, the hacker announces to a horrified Vehicle Inquest Jury that they can save just one passenger. The chosen person will walk away unharmed while the others will almost certainly die in the collision.

I've been hearing how good John Marrs' novels are for quite some time, so over the course of a few months I've been downloading them to my Kindle. Not being one for always reading in publication order, I plunged into The Passengers at full throttle. What I got was a very good story about advancements in technology leading to the government enforcing driverless vehicles as compulsory on Britain's roads. Hmm... not quite as far-fetched as it seems! Autonomous cars were being trialed as recently as 2017.

The story delves into the passengers' backgrounds with the reader learning not everything is black or white. This for me was where the book got very interesting. However, some aspects felt a little too contrived. Overall it was a solid read but just lacked a few of the jaw-dropping 'WOWZER!' moments I've come to expect.

This is a story, set in the near future, about the hijacking of eight self-driving cars. Each car has one 'Passenger', six of which have been deliberately targeted, the remaining two unfortunately just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Passengers have no control of the vehicle they are each travelling in, being suddenly locked in and totally at the mercy of a voice telling them that by the end of the morning they will likely be dead. All the targeted Passengers clearly have some kind of secret that is not immediately obvious, but is gradually revealed by each of the characters and the 'Hacker' throughout the story. Meanwhile a small group of people, a jury, are meeting to decide who was at fault in various road traffic incidents involving self-drive cars, was it the victim of the incident or the self-drive vehicle? During their deliberations the jury becomes aware of the hijackings that are taking place elsewhere, and each member of the group is drawn in to the events as they unfold.

I am a huge fan of John Marrs books. His previous book 'The Good Samaritan' was excellent and horrific in equal parts. This latest book is also pretty darn nasty at times. There is also a bit of a link to another of the author's earlier books, 'The One', in this new one, which might be a tiny bit spoilery for anyone who is planning on reading that book for the first time at some point.

'The Passengers' is probably not my favourite John Marrs novel but it is certainly a very effective cautionary tale about the world's ever growing over reliance on advanced technology and the perils of artificial intelligence, the internet and social media, and how things could soon run out of our control if we do not apply the brakes a little.

I was anticipating John Marrs next book after reading The One. Cunningly, he makes subtle references in The Passengers adding authenticity to the story.
The characters were well drawn, well represented and totally believable.
Involving the reader with the voting element was a stroke of genius so they were fully engaged in the action.
The plot was well conceived, -the idea of driverless cars was a good choice as it is soon to become a possibility.
Fast paced with many a twist and turn, it certainly had me on the edge of my seat and just like the cars racing to a certain conclusion, so the desire was to blindly read on, not knowing what direction the action would go.
Inventive and original,I lapped up this thriller.John Marrs is in my top five of favourite authors now and I eagerly await his follow up novel. Outstanding.

Self driving cars are now the rule, not the exception. Britain's roads are full of them. Traffic jams are a thing of the past, pollution is down, people are calmer...it's all good, right?

Apart from the eight people who have found themselves trapped in their car, unable to control the course, unable to communicate with anyone. They are unwilling victims of Hackers determined to prove that cars are not as safe as they're claimed to be. And the public will have to choose; which one will survive, and which ones will die? They're on a collision course, quite literally...


I've read one other John Marrs book, The One, which is referenced a couple of times in this one. They're both very effective thrillers with multiple POVs. John is very skilled at projecting technology a couple of decades into the future and imagining what it will be like - this one is set sometime after the 2020s, but if there's a more specific time than that I missed it. I wouldn't be surprised, I was reading very quickly trying to find out what would happen. He's very good at making you feel one way about a character, then revealing something that makes you feel another.

I'll be watching out for more John Marrs books in the future, I'd definitely enjoy visiting this world again.

Perhaps one of the most disturbing things about John Marrs' new thriller, The Passengers, is how undeniably plausible the whole situation is. Speaking as someone whose car (should I ever figure out how to actually use it properly) has the ability to park itself - both parallel and into an empty parking space I might add - turns its own main beam on and off and stears me back into my lane should I drift too close to either white line, I know that the whole 'my car is driving me' aspect of motoring really isn't too far away. Google have been trialling autonomous vehicles for some time. Electric vehicles are becoming more prevalent and the there is a big push to find more economical and instant ways to charge these cars as we drive ... How we are from actualisation ... well, that's another matter, but ultimately only one of time.

In The Passengers, John Marrs takes the possible and kicks it up a notch. In a society in the not so distant future, where driverless cars are mandated, eight different people set out on seemingly normal journeys. But they don't stay so normal for long, their automatic navigation and controls taken over by a malicious hacker, hell bent on creating a tense and ultimately deadly hostage situation designed to make the Government watch. But have the passengers been chosen at random or were they chosen with a purpose in mind? And who decides who should die and who gets to live?

As readers we are one hundred percent voyeurs, watching the action unfold in real time, just as the wider public do. This styling really drew me into the action, and travelling with each passenger in turn, learning more about them and experiencing their fear as they begin to understand what is happening to them, really gets your adrenalin pumping. John Marrs has created a real sense of urgency and tension across the whole book, injecting moments of shock that will have you staring at the pages in disbelief. And this really is the ultimate ticking clock kind of novel, the race against time to prevent a tragedy on a mass scale.

The book taps into many aspects of modern, especially the idea of the 'trial by social-media'. The wider public are asked to vote on who lives and who dies, casting a deciding vote alongside an assembled jury who, up until the point of the hijacking, were convened to decide the culpability in a number of road traffic collisions. The whole kind of mob mentality of social media, how fickle people are in their support of one or the other of the potential victims, and how quick they are to judge on only a small percentage of actual facts is sadly something that is all too common in modern life. It is played to perfection in this book - snap decisions being made that cost lives, the sad and heart breaking truth being revealed only when it is too late. It certainly makes you think. How quick are we to judge others when we do not know the full truth of a situation?

The action quickly escalates, speeding readers to a highly tense conclusion, although one perhaps not quite as dramatic as you might expect. Still shocking mind. Everyone in this book seems to be nursing a secret, that much is clear, and yet you still can't believe all that you see or hear. After all, do you take the word of a potential liar or a terrorist? A wife and mother, or a failed asylum seeker? And then they last chapter of the book ... Very clever. Very, very clever. Loved it. Left me with a big smile on my face anyway.

Playing upon the notions of prejudgment, racism, the bitter aftertaste of a post Brexit society, and the way in which technology is starting to govern all aspects of our lives, not only is this a tense and absorbing action thriller, it's a thought provoking one too. With a nod to Mr Marrs' best selling The One, which fans will certainly smile about, it will have you asking some very important questions. How far is too far when it comes to technological advancement? And when and if technology starts to govern and control all of our actions, who will be responsible for governing that technology? It is, after all, only as good as the hand that programmes and controls it, and if that hand should be corrupt ...

What a wonderful read that will make an excellent film. This would stand well among books like Ready Player One, Jurassic Park and 1984.
It has a perfect pace, a flowing plot and an ending that will leave all fulfilled .

This book could not have been published at a more appropriate time. With driverless cars becoming ever more frequently discussed and AI becoming more the norm in cars, this book looks at some devastating consequences of such technology.

The thing is, although this book is fiction, in theory, there is every possibility that something like this could actually happen. We all know technology is not infallible, and that even the most robust IT security systems can be hacked, so really, would we ever be able to have a system where the manufactures could say with 100% certainty that the system was un-hackable?

The book is set in 4 parts: the first part introducing us to the eight passengers and giving a bit of their background, the second part where the hacker hacker has taken over the cars and opens it up to the public vote via social media as to who survives, and the third and fourth parts showing what happens at 6 months and 2 years after. The author by separating the book in this way really led me through the story process from start to finish and I’m glad the 2 years later part was the finishing section as the ending is very satisfying indeed.

There are a lot of characters in this book because as well as the eight passengers there are also the jury members that along with the public are deciding the fate of the individuals in the cars. Some characters feature more than others, some characters I really detested with a passion, but one thing that all the characters shared was that they all had their own hidden secrets and weren’t quite what they made themselves out to be!

Everything about the plot of this book drew me in: the idea of driverless cars being hacked, the fact that we have no idea who, why, or who this has happened, the thought that eight seemingly innocent people are all being driven to their death, it literally just ticked every box. I can’t wait to read more books by this author.

In the near future, many of the cars on Britain's roads are autonomous and driver controlled cars are expected to be outlawed within ten years. There are six levels of cars in the country, in Level 0 vehicles, drivers perform all tasks but as the level numbers increase so the functions carried out by the driver decreases until Level Five, which are completely autonomous with no manual brakes or a steering wheel. I don't drive and until now driverless cars sounded quite tempting - just program in a destination and the car will take you there, choosing the best route and leaving you free to relax, check emails, read or watch a film. However, John Marrs has adroitly destroyed that little daydream as The Passengers follows eight people for whom stepping into an autonomous car becomes the worst move they ever make.
As each of the eight Passengers are introduced, it soon becomes apparent they are a diverse bunch with nothing obvious connecting them. They include a pregnant woman, an ageing actor, an abused wife and a married couple who are travelling in separate cars. Each are given the same devastating news - that in two and a half hour's time, they will very likely be dead. Meanwhile, a Vehicle Inquest Jury are sitting to decide whether man or machine is to blame in fatal collisions involving driverless cars. It's hardly a transparent process; verdicts are almost always in favour of the car, how the jury reach their decisions is kept secret from the public and there is no right to appeal. Most of the jurors are Government appointed individuals but one - in this case, Libby - is a member of the public who is randomly selected to serve a compulsory five day term.
Libby, a mental health nurse is opposed to autonomous cars and in the past attended marches and demonstrations protesting against Level Five cars becoming mandatory. It's this panel who are chosen to decide what the fate of the eight Passengers should be - with the public given an extra collective voice through social media. Each of the Passengers is given the opportunity to talk to the jury and public for ten minutes and they are all potentially able to make a compelling case for themselves as to why they should survive. However, the mysterious Hacker is ruthless and having already shown the watching world of his readiness to carry out his threats, he soon reveals secrets about the unfortunate hostages which may rapidly alter how they are perceived.
The Passengers is an insightful examination of public opinion and how quickly people are persuaded to make judgements, with virtual and actual mob rule deciding the fate of their fellow humans. The Hacker is able to manipulate their choices by giving them only limited and often one-sided information with decisions over something as fundamental as life or death chillingly shown to quickly become reduced to mere hashtags. With very little information, people's morals and prejudices lead them to reach snap decisions; too caught up in the furore to consider how they have come to a point where they are assessing who is more worthy of life via an online poll. The thought-provoking and provocative storyline will undoubtedly make readers wonder how they would respond if compelled - as the jury understandably believe they are - to pick which Passenger should be saved. Some of them are definitely more sympathetic than others but nevertheless, even with more of the facts to hand, it's still not a straightforward or comfortable choice.
As the book progresses Libby is often the voice of humanity, frequently clashing with John, the pompous and loathsome MP in charge of the jury. She has her own reasons for mistrusting autonomous vehicles and even when under extreme personal pressure retains her principled nature. Despite her hatred of the cars, she isn't completely averse to AI and as the Hacker's campaign grows increasingly disturbing, she is the conduit through which readers can examine their own feelings towards the technology - is it man or machine we should really be fearing?
I was engrossed by this a gripping story throughout; there are plenty of surprising twists and a few touches of dark humour too. John Marrs has written a terrifying cautionary tale which recognises that artificial intelligence is likely to become inevitable and will often prove invaluable but transparency and safeguards should be absolutely vital. (I'll definitely think twice before getting in driverless car in the future!) It's also a perceptive and often damning exploration of the power of social media and how it encourages mass culpability over individual integrity. The Passengers is undoubtedly one of the most compelling, original and memorable books I've read this year. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

This book was absolutely fantastic in the beginning. It was gripping and I practically raced through it. I did feel that towards the end, the pace slowed down a lot and I didn't enjoy it as much as the first part of the book. It was overall a good read.

There is no doubt that this author is really talented and I look forward to reading more of his book.

Fabulous book, I enjoyed it from the first chapter to the last. Really good plot and the suspense was brilliant. Its one of those "just one more page before I put it down" books. A very topical subject matter and one for all ages.

I am well aware that during the course of a year I will write at least 30 reviews that say this is my favorite book of the year. And yes, THIS is my favorite book of the year so far!

This book is so awesome it makes me wants to cartwheel along the street.

Driver less cars are all the rage, roads are less congested, they are safer. Right? I mean the government are pushing them on people with buy back schemes on there manual drive cars. It's a no brainer right?

But what happens when someone hacks into the artificial intelligence that runs a driver less car? What happens when 8 passengers have their vehicles taken over and are told that 7 of them will die in less than three hours in a collision? What happens when it's all broadcast live on social media and the public are asked to vote on which passenger they would like to save?

John Marrs will tell you!!!!

From the first chapter I loved this and it's so topical right now! This book could forever scar me from artificial intelligence!

Must read people, you really must read!

4.5* --> 5*

Bloody hell, what the frickety-frack was that?! 😱

Welcome to the world of autonomous cars. Get in, tell your car where you want to go and sit back, relax, have breakfast, read a newspaper or have a nap. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Until, someone somewhere takes control of your car and there’s nothing you can do about it. There’s no steering wheel, no pedals and no manual override and suddenly this relaxing journey turns into a wet-your-knickers one.

This is what happens to eight passengers when their car systems are hacked. The cars are set on a fatal collision course. But hey, there’s good news too! Because the wonderful (ahem) people on social media get to play and decide which one of these passengers should survive this harrowing journey. As a reader, I myself found myself so utterly engrossed that I couldn’t help but think about what I would do, who I would choose. But boy, did that make me feel bad about myself.

This entire premise scared the crap out of me! Not only the idea of autonomous cars, which in my mind is just preposterous. But also the power of social media, the way they’re so quick to judge and the hacker plays into that brilliantly. It’s clear he’s holding back information, manipulating viewers by not giving them the full story. But there’s a reason for that and all shall be revealed.

The Passengers is by far one of the most original thrillers I’ve ever read! It is insanely on-the-edge-of-your-seat tense, brilliantly paced, immensely thought-provoking and massively addictive! It had me glued to the pages from the very beginning and I just couldn’t put it down. This would quite frankly make a fantastic film!

John Marrs is an author whose name I’ve seen pop up quite a lot and yet, this is the first time I’ve picked up one of his books. It definitely won’t be the last time though because I’ve quite obviously been missing out here. If you’re a fan, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. If like me you’re only just getting introduced to his work, this is a fabulous one to start with!

Strap in for the ride of your life! Bring clean underwear. 😉